By Dan Feldman

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Dan Feldman writes for the Detroit Pistons blog PistonPowered. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. PistonPowered writers will contribute a column every Friday at freep.com/pistons. Contact Dan anytime at pistonpowered@gmail.com or on Twitter @pistonpowered.

The Detroit Pistons are better than last season. They’re also younger than last season.

Getting younger isn’t rare. Weighted by playing time, 13 teams have an average age younger than last season.

Getting better is even more common. Fifteen teams have a better winning percentage than they had last season.

But the better/young combo? That’s not quite so easy. Only four teams have accomplished both: the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and, yes, the Pistons.

After years of wallowing in a sub-mediocre abyss, the Pistons are on the rise.

Of course, their situation is far from perfect.

They’re not the NBA’s youngest team. That’s the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by the New Orleans Pelicans.

And they’re far from the NBA’s best team. At 13-14, their record ranks just 14th in the league.

But the Pistons are on pace to hold an annual distinction: the youngest playoff team.

If the season ended right now, the Pistons would hold the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Their average age, weighted by playing time, is 24.7, third-youngest in the NBA. (The 76ers and Pelicans are not on pace to make the playoffs.)

There’s no guarantee either will hold at the end of the season, but that’s where the Pistons stand at the moment.

So how much does being the youngest playoff team matter?

Five years after being the youngest team in the 1995 playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers won a championship.

But the 1997 Los Angeles Clippers, 1998 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2007 Golden State Warriors were each the youngest playoff team, and they each missed the playoffs in the following five seasons.

So the results clearly vary.

Since the NBA expanded to 25 teams in the 1989 season, a composite view of the youngest playoff team each year yields a more accurate expectation. (If you want to explore further, all 25 such teams are listed below.)

Here’s the average result for…

One season after being the youngest playoff team: lose first round

Two seasons after being the youngest playoff team: lose first round

Three seasons after being the youngest playoff team: lose first round

Four seasons after being the youngest playoff team: lose first round

Five seasons after being the youngest playoff team: lose first round

Yeah, this is not a surefire route to becoming a good team, but the potential exists.

Let’s look at it a different way. In the year each team was the youngest to make the playoffs and the five years after, their peak result was:

Championship: 1

Lose NBA Finals: 4

Lose conference finals: 8

Lose second round: 6

Lose first round: 6

There’s a belief in some circles that a playoff appearance, no matter how it goes, will prep a young and talented team such as Detroit for inevitable success. I don’t think it works that way, but how close it comes to the truth will be pivotal for this team.

The Pistons owe the Charlotte Bobcats a first-round pick, drastically limiting their ability to upgrade through the draft. Detroit could have about $10 million in salary cap room this summer, even while keeping Greg Monroe, but I doubt they use all that on a long-term contract, so as to leave room for Andre Drummond’s inevitable extension.

That means the Pistons are banking on internal improvement. As potentially the youngest playoff team, they seem well-positioned to get those upgrades from within, but history shows it’s no guarantee.

The Pistons are on the right track, but merely gaining playoff experience this season won’t completely pave their road to contention.

Being the youngest playoff team would be a victory, but only a small one. The larger gains would remain in reach, though, waiting for an up-and-coming team to snatch them.

Youngest team to make the playoffs each season, with results for that year and the following five

2013: Houston Rockets (lost first round)

2012: Philadelphia 76ers (lost second round, missed playoffs)

2011: Oklahoma City Thunder (lost conference finals, lost NBA Finals, lost second round)

2010: Oklahoma City Thunder (lost first round, lost conference finals, lost NBA Finals, lost second round)